Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered Review for PlayStation 5

Lara Croft’s legacy continues to stay in the cultural zeitgeist with “Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered,” a collection that brings together the second half of her classic PlayStation-era adventures. Aspyr continues its efforts to modernize and preserve these relics of gaming history, giving longtime fans a chance to revisit them with fresh eyes. But while the first collection benefitted from the strength of its original trilogy, this one faces a steeper challenge, that being two of these games weren’t exactly beloved when they first launched, and no amount of remastering can fully change that.

This collection includes “Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation,” “Tomb Raider: Chronicles,” and “Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness.” “The Last Revelation” remains the highlight, delivering an ambitious and atmospheric adventure as Lara unwittingly unleashes the Egyptian god Set. “Chronicles” takes a more segmented approach, with her closest allies reminiscing about her past adventures following her apparent demise. Then there’s “The Angel of Darkness,” a game infamous for its troubled development and clunky execution, where Lara is accused of murder and pulled into a dark conspiracy. Visually, Aspyr has done an admirable job once again. While playing, you can toggle between the original polygonal models and the new remastered visuals at any time, and when running on modern hardware, these games look better than ever. The new textures, improved lighting, and refined character models give these classic adventures a much-needed facelift.

While “The Last Revelation” benefits greatly from these enhancements, “Chronicles” and “The Angel of Darkness” can’t fully escape the flaws that hindered them at launch. Controls are a mixed bag. The original tank controls remain, but the modernized scheme feels frustratingly stiff and unresponsive at times. Given how precise platforming and traversal are in these games, any slight awkwardness in control can lead to unnecessary frustration. Aspyr’s efforts to refine things are appreciated, but they don’t completely fix the inherent clunkiness of these late-’90s/early-2000s mechanics, which I’m sure was a purposeful choice of preservation of the times, it’s just not one I fully appreciated as a modern gamer. One of the best aspects of this remaster is its other quality-of-life improvements. The inclusion of a photo mode is a fantastic touch, which I always enjoy playing around with, I’m sure many people will capture stunning moments throughout Lara’s adventures. Other small refinements, such as better checkpointing and smoother camera controls, help alleviate some of the frustrations that plagued the originals. But again, these tweaks can only go so far in making up for game design that already felt outdated when these titles were first released.

The biggest question for potential players is: who is this collection really for? Nostalgic fans who grew up with these games will likely enjoy the trip down memory lane, warts and all. There’s undeniable charm in revisiting Lara’s classic globetrotting adventures, from the ruins of Cairo to the dark streets of Paris. But for newcomers, this collection is a tougher sell. The remaster does its best to modernize these games, but the clunky controls and dated level design may be a hard pill to swallow in a world where more fluid, polished action-adventure titles exist. Ultimately, “Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered” is a solid package for die-hard fans but an uneven experience overall. “The Last Revelation” remains a gem, “Chronicles” is a curiosity, and “Angel of Darkness” still struggles under the weight of its original flaws. If you have fond memories of these games, this is the best and most accessible way to play them. But if you’re looking for the best of classic Lara, the first remastered collection might be better places to start. Regardless, it’s great to see these games preserved for modern audiences, and hopefully, Aspyr continues its work in bringing the full series to contemporary platforms.

7/10

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